In this ground-breaking study, Dr Robert MacCann cuts through the tangle of myth and legend to identify the earliest Arthurian sources, three sixth-century Welsh poems by Arthur's bard that give eyewitness accounts. The poems miraculously survived for 800 years, while the Welsh language was evolving, to be preserved in a manuscript of the early 1300s. They reveal the truth about Arthur, showing him to be an authoritative Christian king with an unparalleled military reputation, revered by his men. Most astonishing of all, two of the poems record a disastrous sea voyage to a distant land, Annwfyn, where the Britons fought torrid battles against the inhabitants but were eventually decimated. From details in the poems Dr MacCann shows that Annwfyn was America. Arthur's death is mentioned twice, one poem implying that the badly wounded Arthur was given a mercy killing by his bard and was beheaded to protect his head from mutilation. Only a few survivors reached Britain but Arthur's body remained in Annwfyn, his grave being lost.